<p>Hi, so I know that georgia tech has a great co-op program and many people participate in it. But is that true for international students also? Are international students able to get co-op positions? I know they can but I didn't know if it is harder for internationals compared to us students.</p>
<p>Also, how hard is it to get involved in research as an undergraduate at tech? I've heard that in big public schools most of the research positions are for graduate students. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>It’s not necessarily more difficult for international students to find co-op positions, you’ll just have far fewer options. Not as many companies are willing to sponsor after graduation, and companies tend to hire co-ops that they could potentially hire after graduation.</p>
<p>It’s very easy for undergrads to get involved in research. GT has the second most research funding in the nation (and is well ahead of the 3rd ranked school - see here: <a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10311/pdf/tab61.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10311/pdf/tab61.pdf</a>) so there are plenty of opportunities for everyone. Just keep an eye out for faculty postings and talk to professors doing research that interests you. You’ll probably start out doing menial tasks (taking measurements for a grad student) but eventually can advance to doing your own research.</p>
<p>^ according to that chart, Johns Hopkins has the most research funding in the nation (something I learned when I visited last month). What jumped out at me is that they have nearly double the funding of the #2 school (GT). For federal funding, Hopkins gets almost as much as the next 4 schools combined. Why does Hopkins get so much more research funding than these other top schools?</p>
<p>Thank you BanjoHitter,
I have another question. how are the professors? Are there a lot of professors that are brilliant but can’t really teach? If so, does that make it harder to keep up with the class?</p>
<p>You have that at every top engineering college. If you visit an engineering grad schools, you’ll notice that most PhD students are introverted and tend to be international (so English isn’t a first language). Communication skills are something not taught in engineering grad school. </p>
<p>At research universities (basically the top 100 engineering schools, give or take), faculty are hired and promoted based on research accomplishments, not based on teaching ability. As a result of a system with a high supply of poor communicators and not hiring based on communication ability, you tend to see a large number of engineering faculty that have a difficult time communicating ideas outside of using mathematics or modelling. This is something you have to recognize and deal with as an engineering student at a top school. What this means is that you’ll end up teaching yourself more than you might be used to in high school, but consequently you’ll know the material better.</p>
<p>You might hear “oh, the professors at Harvard are fantastic.” This is because they’re not engineering professors. Business programs, law programs, medical programs, humanities programs, social science programs, etc. stress communication in grad school much more than mathematics and engineering.</p>
<p>Hey banjo…Is it hard for international students to get a job in the states after graduation ?</p>
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<p>[Applied</a> Physics Laboratory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_Physics_Laboratory]Applied”>Applied Physics Laboratory - Wikipedia) Hopkins gets a ton of money in defense contracts through the APL and for some reason it’s counted as part of their research funding, but JPL is not counted as part of Caltech’s (if JPL funding counted for Caltech, it would be #1).</p>
<p>Here is some background information.</p>
<p>I am a veteran of the U.S. Navy (6 years) with 2 B.S. degrees (B.S. Applied Science & Technology in Nuclear Engineering from Thomas Edison State College and a B.S. in Finance from San Diego State University). I earned my B.S.A.S.T. in Nuclear Engineering while serving in the Navy. This degree is not ABET accredited (hence my decision to pursue a full-fledged engineering degree). I am interested in Civil Engineering (Water Resources/Hydrology sub-discipline). Here are my questions:</p>
<ol>
<li> Does GeorgiaTech accept Post-Bacc students into the undergraduate Civil Engineering program?</li>
<li> If they do accept Post-Bacc students, are these students allowed to participate in the Co-Op Program?</li>
<li> Is the Co-Op program a mandatory requirement within the curriculum (like Northeastern, Rochester Institute of Technology, Drexel and Kettering) or voluntary?</li>
<li> If it is voluntary, what are the GPA/any other requirements for a typical Co-Op?</li>
</ol>
<p>Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>